Grace was my friend and former classmate. She was only fifteen, studying abroad in the United States, when her parents in China were arrested for practicing the spiritual discipline Falun Gong. 

Suddenly, her world was shattered. Her parents could no longer send her money or pay for her tuition. She was tormented with worry that there was no news from her parents, and feared that they would be tortured, in an attempt to make them renounce their belief. 

This was not the first time her parents had been arrested. In 1999, after appealing to the government, her father was illegally sentenced to four years in prison, her mother three years. Her father described horrific torture at the hands of the guards and other inmates. 

According to Grace, her father had silently donated several thousand yuan when there was a flood in Hunan, and his workplace had given him awards every year. It’s unreasonable that such kind and innocent people would be arrested. 

Just last year, we had been classmates, studying and performing together. She played the erhu, a two stringed Chinese instrument, while I played the flute, and we played many duets together. We also visited tourist attractions in our city together. It’s hard to believe that such a tribulation would befall someone so close to me. 

Grace’s story is only one among millions. Since 1999, the Chinese Communist Party has been persecuting Falun Gong practitioners for their beliefs. 

Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice with five gentle exercises that improve physical health, as well as moral teachings that center around the guiding principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal nationwide campaign of persecution. One reason was the widespread popularity of the practice in China during the 1990s. It was estimated that by 1998, between 70 million to 100 million people were practicing Falun Gong. Some CCP leaders saw this as a threat, as this number exceeded the 60 million Communist Party members. Another reason is the difference between Falun Gong beliefs and CCP ideology; Falun Gong follows the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, while the CCP uses violence and lies to control society. 

Millions of innocent people have been fired from work, expelled from school, jailed, tortured, or even killed for their beliefs. In labor camps and jails, detained Falun Gong practitioners perform forced labor, and are forced to go through ‘transformation’, or brainwashing, trying to make them renounce their belief. There have been thousands of confirmed cases of practitioners being tortured to death, and the real number is estimated to be much higher. 

In 2006, it was exposed to the public that Falun Gong practitioners, as well as other prisoners of conscience, have been killed for their organs. More recently, the detainment of Uighur Muslims has been investigated as well. In China, there have been extremely short wait times for organ transplants. The wait time is 1-2 weeks for a liver transplant, compared to an average of 32 months in Canada, with the terrifying implication being that people are being killed on demand. 

To carry out the persecution, the CCP had to brainwash the Chinese people. They labeled Falun Gong as an ‘evil cult’ that posed a threat to society, and there have been large amounts of anti-Falun Gong propaganda. From the start of the persecution, all books and websites portraying Falun Gong positively were banned, websites were blocked, and millions of books were forcibly taken and burned. 

In 2001, there was a staged self-immolation incident. Five people set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square, and CCTV immediately claimed that these were Falun Gong practitioners. Although a later investigation revealed they were not associated with Falun Gong, and analysis of the videos found discrepancies, this incident led many people who were originally sympathetic to Falun Gong against them, believing that they were indeed dangerous. In a country where censorship and propaganda are constant, this still shapes perceptions of the group today. 

In addition to censorship and propaganda in mainland China, there is not much coverage about this in Western media — despite renewed interest since Hong Kong protests — and when there is, it’s often portrayed unfairly. Many people have never heard of Falun Gong and the persecution; others might have an impression that the practice is something weird or controversial. One reason for this is that the CCP is much more influential than Falun Gong in determining what is reported. Other journalists are hesitant to write about it due to personal considerations. They’re afraid of having their visa revoked, having their websites blocked in China or magazines removed from their newsstands. 

To raise awareness about the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners around the world have participated in parades, organized information stands, petitions, and art exhibitions. People outside China have filed many lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Bo Xilai, and other officials who were responsible for the persecution. Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also spoken out against the persecution. The US House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the persecution, and the US congress passed six resolutions calling for an end to the persecution. 

Before, even though I had been aware of the persecution, I haven’t done much. But now that my friend’s parents are in jail for practicing Falun Gong, I feel obligated to help. There are a few online petitions to reject the CCP. Readers can also raise this issue with their Representative or Congressperson, to raise awareness about this persecution in America, and lead to more and stronger condemnation from the United States. 

Everyone’s voice can make a difference. As Elie Wiesel said, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” 

The world should speak up against this persecution. 

Bibliography

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Cook, Sarah. “Falun Gong: Religious Freedom in China.” Freedom House, freedomhouse.org/report/2017/battle-china-spirit-falun-gong-religious-freedom. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

“Everything You Need to Know about Human Rights in China.” Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china/report-china/. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

Griffiths, James. “Falun Gong: Can a religious group that wants to bring down China's Communist Party survive in Hong Kong?” CNN, July 19, 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/07/18/asia/hong-kong-china-falun-gong-intl-hnk/index.html. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

Guo, Shan. “20th Anniversary of the Self-Immolation Hoax: Heroes Expose the Truth via TV Interception: Falun Dafa.” Minghui.org, Jan. 31, 2021, en.minghui.org/html/articles/2021/1/31/190175.html. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

Lin, Anastasia. “How I Learned to Stop Hating Falun Gong.” WSJ, July 18, 2019, wsj.com/articles/how-i-learned-to-stop-hating-falun-gong-11563490711. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

“S.Res.274 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): A Resolution Expressing Solidarity with Falun Gong Practitioners Who Have Lost Lives, Freedoms, and Other Rights for Adhering to Their Beliefs and Practices, and Condemning the Practice of Non-Consenting Organ Harvesting, and for Other Purposes.” Congress.gov, July 11, 2019, www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-resolution/274/text. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

“Violent Suppression of Falun Gong: Falun Dafa Persecution.” Falun Dafa Information Center,  Oct. 1, 2020, faluninfo.net/violent-suppression-of-100-million-people/. Accessed April 11, 2021. 

Wiesel, Elie. “Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech.” December 10, 1986.